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Friday, May 29, 2009

Brothers Lounge battle update: We have a winner

After six weeks of competition, Brothers Lounge’s weekly battle of the bands came to a conclusion last night as semi-finalist winners the League of Proper Musicians squared off against the Josh Krajcik Band.

After A-list judge Pat the Producer, the host of 92.3 FM’s local music show Inner Sanctum, fell ill, I was enlisted as one of the judges. It was another close competition as the League of Proper Musicians started things off with a high-energy set of percussion-heavy jam rock. The band’s musicianship was on display as it went through extensive time signature changes with ease. The only problem was that the group’s extended jams often meandered, and the band lost a point or two when its guitarist took his shirt off (not cool, dude!). Still, the guys got a good response from the crowd, and the judges (Plain Dealer columnist Michael Heaton and the Rock Hall’s Shelby Morrison) all generally liked the band.

After an extended break for a sound check, the Josh Krajcik Band took over and once again delivered a terrific set of roadhouse blues and sensitive singer-songwriter fare. More focused than the League of Proper Musicians, the band scored higher with the judges, who all felt Krajcik’s soulful voice and Stevie Ray Vaughan-like guitar playing was astounding. As the winner, Krajcik received $500, a guitar, studio recording time, and a free membership to the Rock Hall. You can catch him when he opens for Bernard Allison tonight at 9:30 at Brothers Lounge. — Jeff Niesel